Billy James Gobble Bio Info

Full name is Billy James Gobble...married to Julie...the couple has two sons, Porter
James and Palmer Andrew...graduated from John Battle (Va.) High, 1999...was the 43rd overall selection
by Kansas City in sandwich round of the 1999 June Draft.2009Began Spring Training in Major League
camp with Kansas City before being released on
3/18...signed with Texas for the remainder of Spring
Training but did not make the Major League roster
out of camp and was again released...signed with
the White Sox and reported to the club's Triple-A
Charlotte affiliate...made 11 appearances for
Charlotte before being called up to the Majors on
5/11...spent nearly two months on the Major League
roster before being released on 7/15 and became a
free agent...made 12 appearances for the White
Sox, with no record and a 7.50 ERA (12.0 ip, 10
er)...9 of his 12 appearances were scoreless,
though he allowed 6 runs in one appearance, and 3
runs in another appearance...made 7 consecutive
scoreless appearances from 5/25-6/14 for the
White sox before allowing 3 runs 6/24 vs.
LAD...made only two appearances from 6/15-7/8,
the day he was designated for assignment...made
11 appearances with Triple-A Charlotte before the
call-up to the Majors...owned an 0-1 record with one
save and a 5.25 ERA (12.0 ip, 7 er)...had 19 strikeouts
in 12.0 innings pitched for Charlotte...allowed
runs in just 3 of his 11 appearances...opponents hit
just .174 (8-for-46) against him in Triple-A...did not
catch on with another organization after being
granted his release by Chicago in July.2008Made the Opening Day roster for the fourth time in his career and third season in a row...held
left-handed batters to a .200 (13-for-65) average, but right-handers hit .382 (26-for-68) with four home runs
against him...began the season with 6 consecutive scoreless and hitless outings, covering 3.2
innings...walked 1 and struck out 5...he earned his fourth career save by retiring the final 2 hitters on April
9 to closeout Kansas City's 4-0 win over the Yankees...had the roughest outing of his career on July 21 vs.
Detroit, allowing 10 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks in 1.0 inning of relief...it was the most runs ever scored off
a KC relief pitcher...posted the highest ERA in baseball among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched...his
ERA was the third-highest among Royals pitchers ever (min. 30 IP), trailing only Scott Elarton, who posted
a 10.46 ERA in 37 innings in 2007, and Dan Reichert, who had a 9.08 ERA in 1999...placed on the 15-day
D.L. on July 22 with low back tightness...made 8 appearances (including 4 starts) on a rehab assignment
with Omaha before being reinstated from the D.L. on September 2 after missing 35 Major League
games...was far more effective in September after returning from the D.L., tossing 8 scoreless outings covering
7.0 innings.2007Made the Opening Day roster for the 3rd time in his career and 2nd season
in a row...had the best season of his career, going 4-1 with 1 save and a 3.02
ERA (53.2 IP, 56 H, 18 ER) in 74 appearances...Set a career high with 74 appearances, ranking fourth all-time in Royals history
behind Dan Quisenberry (84 in 1985 and 75 in 1980) and Jason Grimsley (76
in 2003)...posted the most appearances by a lefty in franchise history...His 74 appearances placed him tied for fifth in the A.L...Of his 74 outings, he tossed less than 1 innings in 41 of them...he did last an
inning or more in 9 of his final 17 appearances including equaling his season
high (5th time) with 1.2 innings pitched on Sept. 10 vs. Minnesota...Held left-handed hitters to a .241 (26-for-108) average and struck out 40 lefties
in 108 at bats as opposed to 10 righties in 94 at bats...Pitched extremely well at home, recording a 1-1 record with a 2.33 ERA (27
IP, 26 H, 7 ER) in 38 games...was 3-0 with 1 save and a 3.71 ERA (26.2 IP, 30
H, 11 ER) in 36 road appearances...Made 14 of his 74 appearances against the left-handed heavy Cleveland Indians,
posting a 2.61 ERA (10.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO)...Kept his ERA below 3.00 until allowing 2 runs in 0.2 innings on July 25 vs. the
Yankees...Had 4 separate occurences where he posted at least 5 straight outings not
allowing an earned run including a season-high 9 consecutive outings from
Sept. 7-28 (8.1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 10 SO)...Won 3 decisions in 4 relief outings from May 9-16...all of the wins came against
the Oakland Athletics...Picked up his third career save on June 24 at Milwaukee...2 of his 3 career
saves have come against the Brewers (also June 25, 2006)...Pitched well down the stretch, posting a 1.46 ERA (12.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB,
14 SO) in his final 14 outings of the season.2006Spent his 1st full season at the Major League level and made a career-high 60
appearances with a 4-6 record and a 5.14 ERA (84.0 IP, 48 ER)...led Royals
pitchers with 80 strikeouts...Allowed only 12 of 48 (25 percent) inherited runners to score on the season...Averaged 8.57 strikeouts per 9 innings after averaging only 4.18 strikeouts per
9 innings (254.1 IP, 118 SO) in his career prior to the season...Opened the season as reliever, but made 6 starts for the Royals...was 1-3 with
a 6.15 ERA (26.1 IP, 35 H, 18 ER) as a starter...had 11 walks, compared to 23
strikeouts as a starter...5 of his 6 starts came at Kauffman Stadium...Was named the Royals Pitcher of the Month for May after leading the Royals
with a 3.00 ERA and striking out 13 batters in 15.0 innings...Turned in 8-straight scoreless outings (11.2 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 SO) from April
16-May 6...His 1st start came as a spot start on May 24 vs. Detroit...allowed just 3 hits
and 1 earned run in 4.0 innings of work...Returned to the bullpen and compiled a 2-0 record with a 2.16 ERA (16.2 IP,
4 ER) in 14 appearances May 26-June 30...Opened the season by allowing 8 ER in his 1st 4 outings (3.0 IP) for a 24.00
ERA...rebounded to record a 2.09 ERA (38.2 IP, 9 ER) over his next 27 outings
through June 30...Returned to the rotation on July 4 after making 14 relief appearances between
starts....earned a 7-2 win vs. Minnesota after throwing 5.0 innings and allowing
5 hits and 2 runs...Earned his 1st professional save June 25 vs. Milwaukee by entering the game
with KC leading 3-0 and closing out the fi nal 1.1 innings in the team's eventual
6-0 win...Was charged with losses in back-to-back starts vs. Toronto on July 9 and at
Detroit on July 15...lasted only 3.1 innings (8 H, 5 ER) vs. Toronto and 5.0
innings at Detroit (8 H, 4 ER)...Threw 3.0 innings of relief vs. Cleveland on Aug. 24 and was charged with an
8-4 loss despite giving up just 1 hit and 1 unearned run...Earned a win in the last game of the season on Oct. 1 at Detroit, tossing 1.1
scoreless innings in the Royals 10-8, 12-inning win...escaped a bases-loaded
jam in the 11th...the win prevented the Tigers from winning the A.L. Central
division title.2005Made a career-high 28 appearances, surpassing his previous high total of 25 set in 2004...went 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA in 53.2 innings...made 24 relief appearances after making just 1 previous career relief appearance...Began the year at Omaha (AAA)...was 2-7 with a 6.63 ERA (58.1 IP, 76 H, 43
ER) in 12 starts for the O-Royals at the time of his promotion...Recalled from Omaha on June 20...tossed a scoreless inning that night at
Chicago...Was 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA (17.1 IP, 22 H, 9 ER) in his 4 starts...lasted a season-high 5.1 innings vs. Detroit on Sept. 21...posted a 1-0 record and a 6.19 ERA (36.1 IP, 25 ER) out of the bullpen...Struggled at Kauffman Stadium, posting a 9.14 ERA (21.2 IP, 32 H, 22 ER) in 10 appearances, compared to a 3.38 ERA (32.0 IP, 32 H, 12 ER) in 18 road games...was impressive in 7 day games, logging a 2.65 ERA (17.0 IP, 14 H, 5 ER), compared to a 7.12 ERA (36.2 IP, 29 ER) in night games...Allowed 8 earned runs in 2.0 innings vs. Oakland on Aug. 6...had a 4.53 ERA
(51.2 IP, 26 ER) in his other 27 outings...Turned in 7 consecutive scoreless road outings from July 31 at Tampa Bay to Aug. 28 at New York (9.1 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 4 SO)...Struck out the side in the 6th inning on June 24 at Colorado for the 1st time
in his career...Earned his only win of the season at Oakland on Aug. 21 in KC's 5-4, 12-inning
victory after tossing 3.0 perfect innings...KC rallied from a 3-0 deficit to score 4 in the 8th and 1 in the 12th.2004Had his most productive season at the big league level, going 9-8 with a 5.35
ERA in 25 games (24 starts)..Was tied for the team lead in wins (also Darrell May) and was the only Royals
pitcher to post a winning record for the season...Was 3-0 in his final 5 starts with a 4.01 ERA (33.2 IP, 29 H, 15 ER)...Had the fewest strikeouts (49) in club history for a pitcher with 20 or more starts,
eclipsing the mark of 53 shared by Al Fitzmorris (1974) and Paul Splittorff (1980)...Was 6-3 in road games with a 5.67 ERA...won his last 3 road starts and was
5-1 in his last 7 starts on the road...pitched in 8 of KC's 25 road wins...Took a no decision in his 2004 debut, a 3-1 Royals win over Cleveland on April
9...allowed just 1 hit with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless innings...Was 1-0 and allowed just 3 hits and 1 ER in 2 starts vs. Cleveland for a 0.69 ERA...Collected his 1st win of the season in KC's 5-3 victory over Texas on April 28...
allowed 2 runs in 5.1 innings before leaving the game with muscle cramps...Pitched the best game of his big league career at Toronto on May 3, but
had to settle for a no decision in KC's 10-inning, 3-2 win...retired the 1st 16
batters of the game before Orlando Hudson reached on a throwing error by
Joe Randa...Dave Berg then singled to break up the no-hit bid...Gobble pitched
8.0 scoreless innings before allowing 2 runs in the 9th...Was selected as Royals Pitcher of the Month for April after going 1-0 with a
2.82 ERA in 4 games (3 starts)...Was optioned to Omaha on July 29 and was recalled on Aug. 29...Collected his 1st career complete game at Minnesota on Sept. 5 (9.0 IP, 6 H,
3 ER) in the 12-3 win, snapping a 9-game losing streak at the Metrodome.2003Saw his 1st big league action, going 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA in 9 starts...allowed 27 ER and 56 hits in 52.2
innings...Was called up from Wichita on Aug. 2...made his 1st Major League start on Aug. 3 vs. Tampa Bay...
earned his 1st Major League victory in the Royals 2-0 win over the Devil Rays by pitching 6.0 shutout
innings and allowing 6 hits and 3 strikeouts...Became the 1st Royals rookie to win his 1st Major League start since Glendon Rusch on April 6, 1997
at Minnesota...became the 1st Royals rookie since Derek Botelho on July 18, 1982 to win his Major
League debut as part of a shutout...Earned his 2nd-straight Major League victory on Aug. 9 at Tampa Bay (6.1 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 SO)...Became the 1st KC rookie to win his 1st 2 big league starts since Glendon Rusch in 1997...et a club record for consecutive scoreless innings by a starter to open a career (12.0 IP)...Was charged with the Royals 9-2 loss to the Twins on Aug. 15 (3.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER)...was his 1st Major
League loss...Was optioned to Omaha (AAA) on Aug. 30 and recalled on Sept. 2 without making a minor league
appearance.2002Made just 13 starts for Wichita (AA) in 2002 after suffering from a left groin strain...Went 5-7, allowing 26 earned runs in 69.1 innings of work for a 3.38 ERA...Compiled a 2-3 mark and a 1.42 ERA (31.2 IP, 5 ER) at home, compared to a 3-4 record and a 5.02 ERA (37.1 IP, 21 ER) on the road.2001Was named the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2001...Was 2nd in ERA (2.55) and 3rd in strikeouts (154) in the Carolina League in 2001...also ranked 3rd in starts (27) and 4th in walks per 9 innings (1.66)...Posted a 10-6 mark for Wilmington (A) and a 2.55 ERA in 27 starts...tossed 162.1 innings, recording 154 strikeouts...Was named to the SportsTicker All-Teen Team...Blue Rocks had a 17-10 record when he started in 2001, while scoring only 4 runs in his 6 losses...Had a club-high 15 strikeouts on Sept. 6 vs. Frederick in the Blue Rocks playoff clinching victory.2000Posted a 12-10 record and a 3.66 ERA for Charleston (A)...walked just 34 batters and struck out 115 in 145.0 innings of work...Led the South Atlantic League with 2 shutouts in 2000...finished 4th in complete games and 5th in wins...Won 5 straight starts with a 2.12 ERA from June 29-July 20 pitching 34.0 innings with 8 earned runs.1999Saw action in 4 games with the Gulf Coast Royals, including 1 start...allowed 2 runs in 6.2 innings for a 2.70 ERA...did not figure in a decision.